Freeloader
by st4r-pl314d3s
Summary: Harry got an unwanted, annoying freeloader. Ps: betaed


Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling and various publishers. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. 

Pairing: Harry X Cho, Harry and Draco (friendship, sort of)

Summary: Harry got an unwanted, annoying freeloader

Rating: Teen

Note: Thank you to EnslavementThesis who has been very kind and betaed this story, thus making it far, far better than before 

Also, I planned this to be the first of few stories; each can be read by itself. The second story, Unexpected Destination, will be from Draco's POV.

Freeloader

  
Looking back, Harry should have known there was something strange going on, but at that time it seemed as if there were perfect explanations for the minor disturbances that occured.

  
The first was the broken plates. When he moved into the newly rebuilt Godric Hollow alone, Mrs. Weasley had given him plates and cutlery. She had firmly believed that housekeeping and men were mutually exclusive and had soon descended on Godric Hollow; armed with good intention and a battalion of house items to make it as homey as possible for Harry, including the aforementioned plates.

  
They were, Harry admitted, ugly. 

They were a canary yellow with a big flower motif; quite clearly something that he would not buy for himself. So, when one day he was awoken by a loud crash and saw that they had somehow fallen from the table, he simply chalked it up to the stray cat that often came through the open window and spent more time worrying about the excuses to give to Mrs. Weasley.

  
But after five separate incidents, all involved various (and usually ugly) things that Mrs. Weasley had purchased, even someone as naïve as him suspected something was amiss.

  
Of course, the kitchen was not the _only_ place where problems occurred. 

There was that time when he came home to find almost all of his clothes; barring the formal robes Hermione has helped him choose, stuffed into his fireplace and garbage bin. 

There were also mornings when he could not find his glasses where he put them the day before, and once, when he was coming back drunk from a Griffindor get-together and had almost tripped over his own feet, he could have sworn he heard laughter. 

  
He dismissed that one, however, as a hallucination and tried to find logical explanations for the others. 

Ron − when Harry finally confided to him about these peculiar phenomenon's − suggested a ghost, possibly a poltergeist like Peeves.

Hermione however, reminded Harry that he had just rebuilt Godric Hollow – which rendered previous ghosts as unlikely − and had lived without any disturbances there for a few years. 

Besides, Harry could not think of anyone who would have wanted to haunt him. It was far more likely George was playing a prank on him, despite his claim of innocence.

  
So, when he woke up and once again found his glasses had moved to the sitting room, he did not panic. 

The spectral hands that played with them though, and the familiarly smirking spectral face, almost put him in St. Mungo's.

  
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Malfoy, Harry decided, has successfully replaced Peeves at the top of the Most-Annoying-Ghost-Ever list, despite him apparently not being a poltergeist. 

Harry had tried reasoning with him, persuasion and finally resorted to threats, but Malfoy refused to leave the house. 

After a very short amount of time, Harry began to miss the period of time that Malfoy had been invisible, for it seemed that once his existence was known, not only was the ghost refusing to hide anymore, but seemed to have gotten worse.

  
Malfoy had taken to disturbing him all of the time, instead of restricting it to mornings and the occasional 'accident'. 

He followed Harry everywhere in the house, offering unsolicited comments − mostly insulting − on everything Harry did or owned. He made it a habit to sit in Harry's favorite overstuffed armchair. Harry once tried to ignore him and sit there anyway, but it gave him a chilly feeling to literally be inside a ghost. 

  
Malfoy also seemed quite determined to destroy Harry's career. 

Harry used to have a spotless attendance record in the Ministry. 

In fact, it had been quite normal for him to be the earliest to arrive and the last to leave in his Department. Not because he was the most dedicated of Aurors, but mostly because he rarely had anything else to do. 

However, thanks to Malfoy, he had been over an hour late twice that week. 

He refused to let the front door open in the mornings, especially on the days when Harry had overslept and was in a hurry. 

He also liked to turn the light off randomly at night, usually when Harry had brought home paperwork to finish. 

For someone who was raised as a wizard, Malfoy sure seemed to have no difficulty on controlling the electricity. 

  
"Sorry mate," Ron had said the last time he came to visit. "I stood by you through the war and you know you can count on me to have your back in the field. But this time, you are on your own."

Harry had brought Ron to his house as reinforcement: after all, Malfoy could not stand him before. 

Maybe, he had hoped in vain, seeing Ron in regular basis would convince Malfoy to take his spectral ass elsewhere.

He, in a spectacular oversight, did not take into account that being a ghost, Malfoy had a huger advantage over Ron and that, Malfoy being Malfoy, he had no problems playing dirty. 

  
He hid Ron's coat, slammed the door in Ron's face and sent his cup flying, spilling the scalding hot tea everywhere, Ron's lap and Harry's couch included. 

He insulted Ron – and it seemed death only added his creativity – and disappeared whenever Ron tried to retaliate. 

So far, it seemed that his favorite form of torture was screaming _'Spider!'_ in Ron's ear whenever Ron was lulled into a false security.

  
When Ron failed, Harry tried to enlist Hermione's aid. She was more determined than Ron, but unfortunately, trying to reason and argue against a ghost who merely disappeared whenever you opened your mouth was quite useless. 

Harry would have been grateful though, from the brief respite from Malfoy's unwanted presence, if not for the fact that whenever Malfoy removed himself from his (And Hermione's) presence, he caused mayhem in _other_ rooms of the house.

Such as the flood in the bathroom. 

Hermione gave up when Malfoy manipulated a marker and covered her books in childlike drawings.

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Harry had not seen Cho since they had graduated from Hogwarts, although he had heard rumors about her becoming a seeker for a well known Quidditch team. 

So, he was quite surprised, but pleased, to find her at the Ministry first thing in that morning.

"Well, I did work as seeker for a few years," She explained, chewing on a piece of tomato from her salad. "But then I can't be a seeker forever, can I? And there is a vacancy in the Department of Magical Games and Sports." 

Harry had blurted out an invitation for lunch to catch up – because it was only reason he could think of – and to his surprise, she has readily agreed. 

  
After that, one lunch becoming two, and before that month had ended, it had become routine for them to take lunch together whenever they were both at the office.

Then Harry started to pop up in Department of Magical Games and Sports now and then. 

Cho often came to the Harry's cubicle in the morning, bearing coffee. 

They also started spending time after work together, trying out new restaurants and going to the Muggle cinema, something which Harry was more than happy to do - he disliked coming home these days, given the ungrateful freeloader that shared it with him. 

  
It was Saturday, when they were watching a comedy (Cho refused the detective movie and Harry has no inclination to watch romance). 

The room was more than half empty and most of the others in the cinema were parents with their children.

Later Harry would attribute it to Griffindor's courage, but at that time, it seemed as it were purely instinct to grab Cho's hand, which rested beside his. When he felt Cho's fingers tightened in his hand, Harry let out a breath he did not know he was holding.

  
They were officially dating that evening.

  
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"We have been dating for a month, Harry. What are you hiding from me?" 

  
Harry cringed inwardly. Lately, it was always the same argument. 

Cho wanted to know why he never invited her to his house, even going so far as refusing her Floo access, just in case. 

  
"I just thought the restaurant was nicer for a date."

  
"Pull the other one, Harry. I know there was something you aren't telling me," She paused, "Are you living with someone?"

  
"No!" Harry did not shout, but it was a near thing. He could feel the stares of the other patrons. "It is not that," he added, more quietly.

  
Well, it did not strictly untrue. There was Malfoy. 

But Malfoy was not a person, wasn't he? 

Besides, Cho wanted to know if he had another lover, and Malfoy clearly did not fit in that category.

"Then why?" She demanded.

  
Cho's accusations of infidelity made Harry realize that he could not make any more excuses.

In the beginning, he just did not want to add the complication of having a ghost haunted his house to their still new relationship. 

Not to mention that said freeloader has been proven as an expert on jeopardizing his relatively normal life so far. But then, he saw that lying would make him lose her. 

  
Harry sighed. "Come home with me after work tomorrow. I will show you something,"

  
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Malfoy's treatment of Cho made what he did to Hermione and Ron seemed courteous in comparison. 

Granted, he did not throw a tantrum or pull a prank on her, but Harry thought Malfoy's open disdain was even worse. He almost – only almost though – missed the flying cups. 

Malfoy, in short, had done a marvelous impression of Narcissa. 

The moment Cho entered the house, he had eyed her coolly from head to toe and back, making it as obvious as possible. 

Then, he turned to greet Harry and dismissed her altogether. 

He insisted on staying with them the entire time, talking only to Harry and if he said anything to Cho, it was in the form of barely veiled insults, and insinuations that she was a gold digger. 

Harry tried to ignore him and Cho shouted at him, but apparently Malfoy as a ghost was even more persistent than he was when he was alive. 

He kept on talking, and locked the door to the kitchen when Harry offered her refreshments.

  
"Can't you behave yourself just for one evening?" he snarled at Malfoy as soon as Cho slammed the front door closed. 

  
"And what, pray tell, have I done? I did not throw things at your precious _girlfriend_, I stayed visible and I didn't hide her things," Malfoy said, ticking his fingers with each point. 

  
"No! You were worse! And I know you did it on purpose, so quit the innocent act!"

"She is not good enough for you," shouted Malfoy.

  
"And you must know, since you are never good enough for anyone," Harry lashed back.

  
For a moment, Malfoy seemed to be hurt. But maybe it was just his imagination. Could a ghost even feel hurt? Moaning Myrtle sure said so, but maybe it was just her.

  
"It was your fault. Why did you bring her home, anyway?"

  
"I didn't know that I must gain your permission first to bring my girlfriend to my own house. Or did you forget that you are the freeloader here?"

  
"I don't like her here," He said, almost petulantly

  
"I don't like you here either," Harry replied, "Why can't you go haunt someone else instead?"

But Malfoy has disappeared.

  
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Things went downhill between Cho and him afterwards. 

He apologized to her – although it was Malfoy's fault, really – at great length, and she has said that she understood. For a while, it all seemed fine. They met at Cho's house, or in public places. Although Harry begrudged being unable to bring guests to his own house, he knew it was for the best.

But then they slowly spent less and less time together. 

It started innocently enough: Harry was assigned a new case, one that taken a lot of time to solve, and Cho had been sent to investigate allegations about a foreign Quidditch team and was out of London for a few days. 

Unfortunately, one became two, and two became a series.

  
Cho stopped coming to Harry's desk in the morning, saying she had a lot of paperwork to do. Then they both became too busy for their regular dinner together and finally even their Saturday's date changed from routine into an occasional thing.

  
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"It was a mistake, Harry. I am sorry, but I don't think this 'we' business will work," Cho had said suddenly while waiting for their desert.

  
For a moment, Harry was sure he misheard. "Why? I think we are okay."

  
"We are, but we feel more like friends instead of lovers, don't you think so?"

  
"Why?" Harry did not understand. He didn't think they acted like friends: Friends did not hold hands and kiss − at least not the way that they did. 

  
Cho refused to meet his eyes. 

  
"It just, I can't do this, Harry!" She pleaded with him, "I want a normal relationship, you know. Not one where we have to play cat and mouse with your ghost."

  
"I will exorcise him," Harry said, resolutely. Hermione must know where to search for an exorcist. Or if there was nobody, he could do it himself. Maybe there was something about it in the library at Grimmauld Place.

  
"It is not just that, Harry. You are an Auror. Your job is always going to put you in danger. I don't think I can handle always being worried about whether or not you will come home, whether the next assignment will land you in St. Mungoes, or worse!"

  
"But you have known that I am an Auror since the beginning!"

  
"Yes. But you did not get any dangerous assignments back then. I thought I can handle it when you did, but I know now that I can't. I'm sorry."

  
"Hey, I can protect myself," Harry tried to reassure her, "Surely, they can't be as bad as Voldemort!" He added, with the hope of alleviating the mood. 

  
"That was the other thing,"

  
"Voldemort?" Surely Voldemort could not have a hand in wrecking his love life. He was dead now, he had been for a few years.

  
"Your popularity," she held up a hand, preventing Harry from protesting when she saw him start to open his mouth. "I know you didn't want it Harry, but it is there. We can't even have a peaceful date if we stick to Wizarding London. I only want an ordinary relationship,"

The epiphany came suddenly. He did not see it before but somehow − when he thought about it − it all made sense. 

  
"There is someone else, isn't there?" 

  
Cho hesitated.

Then she nodded. The irony of it made Harry want to laugh. A few months ago Cho had asked him that same question at this very restaurant. 

  
"I am really sorry, Harry. I didn't mean for it to happen. He was a friend from my Quidditch days. I met up with him again when I was sent to investigate the teams. It's just…we seemed to click instantly. I really tried to make us work, Harry. It was too much for me!" The explanation came in a rush, but Harry did not think it made a lot of difference. 

The bottom line was still the same. 

  
Cho was leaving him.

  
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Midnight found Harry slamming his front door as hard as possible. After their break up, he had visited The Leaky Cauldron and proceeded to get exceedingly drunk on cheap Firewhiskey. 

It was lucky tomorrow was Sunday.

  
"What the hell, Potter? Don't you know what time it is?" Malfoy appeared near the stairs and glided towards him. 

  
"Shut up, Malfoy!" Harry snapped, but then he tripped and fell, losing the intimidating effect he had tried for.

  
"Are you drunk?" Malfoy asked again, taking a whiff of the air.

  
"Sod off, it's none of your business!"

  
But of course, Malfoy would not obey him. "Where the hell is Chang?" He demanded, "How can she let you drink this much?"

  
The mention of Cho spurred Harry's fury. 

  
"Do you want to know where Cho is? I'll tell you where she is. She left me! And it was your fault!"

"Good riddance, I say. She was not good enough for you anyway."

  
"Don't you hear even a word of what I said? It was your fault! _All your fault!_" Harry was on a roll. "You have made my friends stopped coming. You've screwed up my work. And now, you made Cho leave me!"

  
"How can it be my fault? I didn't put the Imperius Curse on her."

  
"She can't stand you! Ron and Hermione can't stand you! Even I can't stand you! Maybe I should just exorcise you," He said. 

Satisfaction filled him when Malfoy's face reflected both surprise and fear. It was the first time he got the upper hand on Malfoy - as a ghost, anyway.

  
As fast as it came, the anger he felt dissipated. What was the use? 

He could not change the other's causes. Besides, Cho admitted she has fallen in love with someone else. Even if Malfoy disappeared, Cho would not come back.

  
Cho was right. Dating him was just too tiring. He came with too much baggage.

  
Harry did not realize he has said the last words aloud.

  
"You certainly do!" Malfoy sure recovered quickly. 

  
Harry felt worse. Even a ghost thought so.

  
"But who does not?" Malfoy continued.

  
"Huh?"

"Who does not come with some baggage? Even that girl came with Diggory shaped baggage."

Harry wanted to point out to Malfoy that he should not talk about Cedric that way. 

He wanted to tell Malfoy that he carried more baggage than the average person. But then he realized that strangely enough, Malfoy was trying to make him feel better.

  
So, he said nothing. 

Instead, he just stood up and dragged himself to the nearest sofa to sleep away the rest of alcohol in his system. 

This time, he did not protest when Malfoy took his favorite chair.

  
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Harry opened the door quietly. 

He was so tired he felt like he could fall asleep where he stood. 

The arrest has been more difficult than they had predicted. Somehow, someone had leaked the information of the raid to the target. Instead of the sitting ducks the Aurors expected, they came face to face with hexes and kicking, screaming and resisting criminals.

  
Malfoy was sitting on his favorite chair again, humming a song Harry did not recognize while juggling what seemed like his newest set of cups. 

He did not know whether the blonde realized he was there, but if he was, he didn't give any indication of it. 

In fact, he had taken to ignore Harry after their last argument.

  
Funnily, after a week Harry did not feel as heartbroken as he thought he would be when he thought about Cho. He loved Cho, he did. 

He thought their relationship would be the one. He could imagine feeling content with her there.

But now, he realised that he probably missed the presence of somebody more than her specifically. Did he not really fall in love with her? Or was the capacity of his love just limited to this much now? Did he love her because she was energetic, graceful Cho, or because with her he has someone to hear his complaints, and to spend time with? 

  
The sound of broken cup broke his musing. 

  
"Oops!" Malfoy sounded unrepentant, "Well, no great loss. What where you thinking when you bought them anyway? I never saw an uglier cup," Malfoy informed him, and then continued his juggling.

Harry took a good look at him. 

He was an irritating, unwanted guest with penchant for wreaking havoc. Malfoy was every bit – if not even more – as exasperating in death as he was in life. Yet, he was also something (if not someone) and, unlike a pet, Harry could ignore him for days if he felt like it. 

After all, it wasn't as if he could die. Again. 

  
Harry had avoided him as much as possible so far and Malfoy was the last on his list of preferable companions. 

He could think about opening up to him, moaning about his job (And everything else). Granted, the only response he would ever receive was ridicule. 

There was also no guarantee that Malfoy wouldn't repeat his words to whoever he fancied. 

It was probably better to keep his mouth shut.

  
For reasons he did not understand – the jury was still out on whether Malfoy knew – Malfoy was stuck with him. Malfoy would not or could not leave him. 

Of course, having Malfoy was not the same as having a girlfriend. He hesitated to even call Malfoy a friend. But at the very least he liked to think that, until he found a girl who would not mind someone with baggage like his (which included an annoying ghost), he would not come home to an empty house. Maybe it would be a house that barely standing or in desperate need of repair, but at least it wasn't empty. 

  
"What's wrong?" Harry liked to fancy that the sound was tinged with worry. While he was spacing out again, Malfoy had put the cups on the table and had moved to hover near Harry.

"Nothing," Harry said.

  
FIN


End file.
